


Get It Out

by BlaiddGwyn (dragonLeighs)



Series: Whumptober 2020 [3]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Jaskier | Dandelion, Basically Jaskier gets shot in the leg with a crossbow bolt, Blood and Injury, Competent Jaskier | Dandelion, Gen, Hurt Jaskier | Dandelion, Injured Jaskier | Dandelion, Jaskier | Dandelion Whump, Minor Character Death, Whumptober 2020, and still manages to get himself to safety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:34:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26861488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonLeighs/pseuds/BlaiddGwyn
Summary: The market was busy, despite its small size. It seemed to Jaskier as though everyone in town was here, crowding around the many stalls selling their wares. Jaskier normally didn’t mind crowds, thrived in them more often than not. Today however he was trying his best to remain unnoticed.Written for Whumptober 2020
Series: Whumptober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947397
Comments: 1
Kudos: 151
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Get It Out

**Author's Note:**

> Today's whumptober prompt is "Get it out".
> 
> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!

The market was busy, despite its small size. It seemed to Jaskier as though everyone in town was here, crowding around the many stalls selling their wares. Jaskier normally didn’t mind crowds, thrived in them more often than not. Today however he was trying his best to remain unnoticed.

He was wearing an old doublet, colours dulled with time, and a chemise that had certainly seen better days. He tried to blend in as much as possible but kept an eye out for anyone who may be looking for him. Or more specifically, Geralt and Ciri.

The witcher and his child surprise were waiting for him back at the inn. It was too dangerous for them to go out during the day, afraid a Nilfgaardian spy may be lurking in the streets, ready to snatch the princess away. After a lengthy argument, Geralt had allowed Jaskier to go to the market to buy supplies by himself. It had been months since they had last travelled together and Jaskier had only stumbled upon the witcher and his child surprise by accident in the past few weeks while they had been camping in the woods. For all anyone knew, they still travelled separately.

Jaskier was perusing a stall selling various vegetables that they could use in a stew when he suddenly had the feeling he was being watched. He resisted the urge to turn around, continuing to act as though he was oblivious. It was probably nothing anyway, his overactive imagination getting the better of him. He handed over a few coins for some carrots, tucking them into his bag before heading to the next stall.

As he turned, he caught a glimpse of a man standing just around a corner at the edge of the market. He was dressed in all black, uncommon for anyone who wasn’t a witcher. Or Nilfgaardian.

Swallowing his nerves, he continued winding his way through the market. The man seemed to follow him, moving from place to place, never directly toward him but always remaining in line of sight. Jaskier was glad he brought his knife, concealed in his boot.

The rest of his shopping went smoothly, the man following him making no move to intercept him yet. Jaskier knew he was waiting for him to lead him back to Geralt and Ciri. He left the market, heading in the opposite direction of the inn. Maybe he could lose him down an alley before circling back around.

Now that there was no crowd to hide behind it was harder for the bard to track the spy’s exact location. He would disappear around a corner only to reappear a minute later elsewhere. It was making his attempt to lose him difficult. He sped up his pace, but that only seemed to alert the spy that he had been spotted. He sped up to match Jaskier’s pace, not bothering to hide anymore.

Jaskier broke out into a sprint then. If he couldn’t lose the spy, maybe he could outrun him. The spy didn’t seem to have an accomplice, no second person appeared as they ran down back alleys. Jaskier tried to lead them back toward the inn, hoping that Geralt might be able to deal with the threat.

That didn’t go to plan either. The only warning Jaskier got was the faint whistle of air before the crossbow bolt buried itself in the back of his thigh. He fell hard, sprawled out on the packed dirt of the road, only just stopping himself from smashing his face on the ground. The pain was near blinding and he couldn’t help the cry that tore from his throat.

He had no time to dwell on it. The sounds of footsteps approaching from behind had him reaching for the knife in his boot, adrenaline coursing through his veins, helping him to ignore the worst of the pain for now. Trying to stand was futile, even he knew that, but he tried to roll onto his back so that he could at least face his attacker.

The bolt made moving difficult but he scrambled his way onto his back just as the Nilfgaardian reached him, grabbing him by the collar and holding a knife to his throat. “Where is the witcher?” he growled out.

“Who? Geralt? I haven’t seen him in months,” he said, putting his acting lessons from Oxenfurt to good use.

“You’re his bard, are you not? You travel with him. Where is he,” he asked again, pushing the tip of the knife just a little harder under his chin. He could feel the bite of the metal, the bead of hot blood running down his neck.

“I think you’ve got the wrong impression. Geralt told me to fuck off nearly a year ago. I’ve not talked to him nor seen him. I don’t know where the fuck he is.”

The spy decided then to grab his leg where the bolt was still buried. Jaskier screamed, unable to hold back the tears that ran down his face. “Fuck you,” he ground out when the pain subsided enough to let him think. He unsheathed his dagger and plunged it into the man's side. He let go of Jaskier, dropping the bard back to the ground with a thud. The Nilfgaardian held a hand over the heavily bleeding wound.

Jaskier moved in for a second attack, this time aiming for his neck. The dagger sank deep. The spy made a choked noise, blood dribbling out of his mouth as he gasped for air that wouldn't come. He keeled over with a dull thump, lifeless eyes staring blankly at the grey sky, his face and clothes stained crimson.

Taking a moment to steady himself, Jaskier laboriously pushed himself to his feet, bearing almost all of his weight only on his good leg. He wiped the blood off his dagger on the man's shirt before sheathing it and making his way back to the inn. The urge to pull the bolt out was tempting but he knew it would only lead to him bleeding to death if he did it now, with no way to staunch the blood.

He had managed to run most of the way to the inn before he'd been shot but it took him what felt like an eternity to cover the remaining distance. He was leaning heavily on nearby walls for support, unable to put any weight on his injured leg. Eventually he made it to the inn. He shoved the door open and hobbled his way down to the room he was sharing with Geralt and Ciri. He was thankful their room was on the ground floor.

He raised his hand to knock but the door was yanked open before he had a chance. He was greeted by fierce golden eyes. "Jaskier, what happened?"

"How did you-"

"I could smell your blood," he explained as he helped Jaskier inside. Ciri was sitting on one of the beds, wide eyed at the blood that had soaked Jaskier's leg. Geralt lowered him to sit on the edge of a chair so that the bolt wasn't pressed further into his leg. Now that Jaskier was safe, he suddenly felt the full force of the pain return as adrenaline abandoned his system.

“Please get it out,” he moaned as Geralt examined the wound.

“I’m not sure I can do it here. The bolt went deep.”

“I’ve had worse.”

“I don’t want you to bleed to death in some backwater inn,” he hissed between his teeth, hoping Ciri couldn’t hear him. The last thing the girl needed was to witness more death.  
Jaskier caught on to what he was trying to say, despite the pain that was now almost overwhelming. “Alright, fine. Go get a healer or something.”

Geralt took a strip of cloth from his bag of medical supplies and tied it tight around his leg above the injury. “This should hopefully slow the bleeding,” he said to Jaskier as he tied the knot. He stood, turning to Ciri. “Keep him out of trouble for me while I’m gone,” he said with a small smile.

She nodded with a cheeky grin, clearly taking her responsibility very seriously. Jaskier sputtered with mock outrage before the witcher left.

A heavy silence filled the room with Geralt’s absence. Jaskier felt himself struggling to keep his eyes open and vaguely wondered if he was already bleeding to death. He was suddenly jolted awake when Ciri spoke, although he wasn’t sure what she had said.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“How did you get shot? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Not at all. It was a Nilfgaardian spy. He found me in the market, followed me around until I was done. I tried to lose him but ended up just running back here. He shot me before I made it.”

“So how did you get away?”

There was no delicate way to put it. He had killed a man, stabbed him in the throat and felt nothing while he choked on his own blood.

It seemed Jaskier had gotten a little lost in his thoughts as Ciri had to break the silence again. “He’s dead, isn’t he.”

“Yes.”

“Good.” The steel in her voice surprised him. She was only a child, but she had lost everything to Nilfgaard. Her family, her friends, her home. And now she was being hunted by these people, her hatred and fear of them were to be expected really.

He was saved from having to reply by the door opening. Geralt stepped inside, followed by a short man he assumed was the healer. The man set his bag down next to where Jaskier was sitting before examining the wound. He was much less gentle than Geralt had been, causing him to let out several groans of pain.

Eventually the onslaught of touches ceased, and the healer began rummaging through his bag. He Pulled out several bottles, reading their labels before finally handing one to Jaskier and instructing him to swallow all of its contents. He did as he was told, coughing at the strong taste. He had no idea what exactly it was supposed to do but it didn’t take long for it to kick in as the world apeared to start spinning. The pain faded away and he felt incredibly drowsy while also feeling like he weighed nothing.

There were voices around him but he couldn’t concentrate on what they were saying or even who was speaking. There were suddenly hands on his shoulders, pushing him back into the chair. He tried to fight against them but found he was as weak as a kitten. There was more speaking before suddenly the pain returned worse than before. It was too much and his vision faded to black.

Jaskier cracked his eyes open. He hadn’t realised he had closed them. The pain in his leg had died down to a dull throb which he was immensely grateful for. He wanted to move but found himself lying down. When did he lie down? He tried to sit up but was stopped by a large hand on his chest.

“Are you back, Jaskier?” a gravelly voice asked.

“Mmm… Geralt?” He turned to where the voice had come from and saw Geralt sitting next to him. He remembered then what had happened before he evidently passed out. Whatever the healer had given him was still affecting his mind it seemed was the room swirled around them and his thoughts were frustratingly slow.

“It’s me.”

“’s it out?” he slurred.

“It’s out. You passed out.”

“I re’mber. Ciri wasn’t there wa’she?” He didn’t want her to have seen that.

“I sent her out of the room.”

“Good.”

“Try to get some more sleep Jask. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

It didn’t take much persuading for Jaskier to close his eyes again. The world continued to feel like it was spinning but the steady hand still pressed to his chest grounded him, allowing sleep to claim him quickly.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if it felt a bit weird, I had written a different ending but decided I didn't like it so I wrote the second part last minute and kinda stuck it on.
> 
> Come say hi to me on [tumblr!](https://blaidd-gwyn.tumblr.com/)


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